What does it take to become a successful content creator?
In 2023, it’s a question on everybody's mind.
Producing content is easy, but when it comes to landing brand partnerships and growing your follower count — how do you level-up?
Enter: Peyton Dix. We spoke to the part-time content creator (with over 100K followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter) to learn what it takes to make it.
Ahead, Peyton shares her top five content creator tips to help get you noticed by brands, make money, and see a spike in engagement.
5 Tips to Becoming a Successful Content Creator
While no creator’s journey looks the same, Peyton’s is one we could all take a few pages from.
Here are five go-to content creator tips you can come back to again and again:
Voice Is Integral
Play The Platform
Engage With Your Audience
A Tweet Is a TikTok Is a Reel
Tag Brands to Land Partnerships
Content Creator Tip #1: Voice Is Integral
The first step to becoming a successful creator? Own your voice.
In fact, that’s exactly what led Peyton — a Twilight diehard — to a career in social media.
After landing a role at The Outline (a now-shuttered publication), Peyton forgot to block her boss (and CEO) from her online antics.
“I’d been popping off on my stories and live tweeting my existence in my inherently Black queer voice, which I thought might get me into trouble.”
Yet, to the creator’s surprise, instead of a firing, she received a glowing review — requesting her voice be used for the publication’s online presence.
“Brands are trying so hard to sound like creators, so if you have your own voice, pump it out, and make it loud,” advises Peyton.
At the end of the day, people connect with people, not a logo.
So don't be afraid to be yourself and create content around the things that you're interested in.
And for those on the shyer side, Peyton says to ignore your inner critic:
"No one's looking at your Instagram the way you are. For me, getting past that helped release some of the control and hyper-criticism I had about posting."
The takeaway? Let your personality shine and be consistent — a Later study found that accounts with up to 100K followers tend to post 3 Instagram feed posts a week.
FYI: Using a social media scheduler, like Later, to plan and share your content is the best way to ensure a consistent posting cadence. Create an account today:
Content Creator Tip #2: Play The Platform
When it comes to content creation, “if you're not playing the platform, you’re automatically going to lose.”
In other words, think about what platform you're on and make sure you're leveraging the tools that exist there.
Case in point: “Not only are closed captions on Instagram great for accessibility purposes, but I find the platform actually favors the use of the feature, too.”
Whether it’s an Instagram Story poll or a TikTok Now, think about how you can incorporate in-app features into your overall content strategy.
Though, keep in mind, not all features are going to be automatic hits for you — experimentation is key.
“Test and learn. You can't keep your content in the guardrails of being safe. Trust me, sometimes you have to let things flop, so they can pop off later,” says Peyton.
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Content Creator Tip #3: Engage With Your Audience
Fostering a Tom Holland and Zendaya-obsessed community like Peyton’s doesn’t happen overnight.
The secret to growing your audience? Engage with them!
“I make a concerted effort to reply to every single comment and keep the conversation going. It not only helps foster a community of folks, but it also builds relationships with people that I may not know.”
It can be as simple as setting time aside every day or week to respond to your comments and DMs.
But you can also take it a step further and interact with other creators’ content too.
“You never know who's going to respond to you. I love replying to people's Instagram Stories, I'm a freak about it,” laughs Peyton.
“I also use a lot of polls because I want to see how people are engaging and responding. I recently posted a hot take about milk making a comeback, and got the most views and engagement I've ever seen. Milk slander is huge right now.”
Translation: It’s not enough to post and ghost.
Like any good relationship, in order to cultivate a connection with your audience, you’ve got to chat them up, and get to know them.
On the lookout for more creators to follow and get inspired by on Instagram? Bookmark this post: Ones to Watch: The Best Content Creators to Follow on Instagram
Content Creator Tip #4: A Tweet Is a TikTok Is a Reel
As a self-proclaimed “lazy creator”, Peyton’s motto is that a Tweet is a TikTok is a Reel.
Otherwise known as cross-promotion, it’s a major time saver and a great way to get the most mileage out of a single post.
“I cross-promote ALL of my content. If there's a channel that it can live on, I put it there — just in a different format.”
Post a few Tweets that get tons of engagement?
Repurpose them into an Instagram carousel post, as an outline for a blog post, or to serve as inspiration for a TikTok:
It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
Speaking of content creator tips, use Later to schedule your content on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter all in one go. Sign up for free!
Content Creator Tip #5: Tag Brands to Land Partnerships
In the wise words of Ms. Dix, “you never know who’s following you.”
And tagging brands can be your golden ticket to getting noticed — even if you have a few thousand followers.
“At the very least it could lead to the brand sending products your way to review.”
And once you have a foot in the door?
“Keep the relationship up, because you never know how the content you're making can lead to something even bigger.”
In fact, creating a timely reaction video about the viral "prosecco sbagliato” audio is exactly what landed Peyton on Campari’s radar, and swiftly into a brand deal.
“It’s one of my best-performing sponsored posts because it was tied to a trending moment, and felt really organic.”
Brands are willing to pay a pretty penny to have you promote them to your audience — whether you have a million followers, or just a couple hundred in tow.
So, whether you're an aspiring part-time creator or just starting out, refer to the above content creator tips whenever you need an extra dose of inspiration.
Establish your voice, repurpose your content, and trust the process — just like Peyton.
P. S. she's on Team Edward, so if you're a part of the Cullen hive, please slide into her DMs.
FYI: Later makes creators' lives easier with a customized link in bio page, content creation tools, and more. Create an account and get started today:
